Pre-season Much of the summer had involved rumours of a takeover deal between former player
Niall Quinn and a consortium consisting mainly of Irish businessmen. Talks were confirmed between Quinn and the club on 28 April, and a takeover fee of £10,000,000 was later agreed. Just days before the takeover was complete, Quinn himself was appointed manager, with the start of the Championship looming. Quinn and the
Drumaville Consortium completed the £10,000,000 takeover for 72.59% of the club's shares on 27 July. The pre-season transfer activity started with five signings for Sunderland and three players being transferred to other clubs. They recruited experienced players
Kenny Cunningham,
Darren Ward and
Robbie Elliott for
free transfers.
Trevor Carson and
Peter Hartley were promoted through the club's
youth system. Sunderland allowed
Kelvin Davis to join
Southampton for £1,250,000, and former fan favourite
Julio Arca left to join rivals
Middlesbrough. As
Kevin Ball returned into his coaching role at the club,
Kevin Richardson took charge of pre-season affairs. Their first pre-season match was against non-league
Forest Green Rovers, which Sunderland won 3–0 with goals from
Liam Lawrence,
Daryl Murphy and
Dean Whitehead. This was followed up by a 2–0 win against
Rotherham United;
Daryl Murphy and
Jonathan Stead were the scorers. Murphy continued his pre-season scoring streak with a goal against Irish outfit
Shelbourne;
Rory Delap scored the other goal in a 2–0 victory. Sunderland finished their pre-season schedule with a 3–0 win over
Carlisle United.
Jonathan Stead,
Liam Lawrence and
Grant Leadbitter were the scorers, giving Sunderland an unbeaten pre-season record scoring ten goals, and not conceding any goals.
August Sunderland's season started against
Coventry City on 6 August 2006. They had taken the lead with a goal from
Daryl Murphy, but ended up losing the match 2–1. On 8 August, Sunderland signed
Clive Clarke from
West Ham United for £400,000. Captain
George McCartney went the opposite way for £1,000,000 after eight seasons at Sunderland. They further bolstered their squad with the signing of
Barcelona B player
Arnau Riera for a free transfer. Sunderland continued their poor start to the season with a defeat against
Plymouth Argyle on 12 August. They initially led the match after a
Daryl Murphy goal, but finished up 3–2 losers;
Stephen Elliott was the other scorer for Sunderland. They recorded their fourth defeat in as many games against
Southend United on 19 August, being beaten 3–1.
Jonathan Stead grabbed a consolation goal late on, but Sunderland went to the bottom of the league. On 22 August Sunderland began their
League Cup campaign against
Bury who were bottom of the Football League; they were beaten 2–0. Arnau Riera was sent off after making his first start for the club. Quinn secured the signings of
William Mocquet from
Le Havre for an undisclosed fee, and
Tobias Hysén from
Djurgården for £1,700,000. He also allowed
Kevin Kyle to join
Coventry City for £600,000. With prospective manager
Roy Keane watching in the crowd, Sunderland and Quinn achieved their first victories of the season. They beat
West Bromwich Albion 2–0 on 28 August with goals from
Dean Whitehead and
Neill Collins. Keane was appointed Sunderland manager on the same day, signing a three-year contract, with
Tony Loughlan as assistant manager. On the
transfer window deadline day, Keane secured the signings of
Dwight Yorke from
Sydney,
Ross Wallace and
Stanislav Varga from
Celtic for a combined fee of £1,100,000. He also brought in
Liam Miller from
Manchester United,
Graham Kavanagh and
David Connolly who both joined from
Wigan Athletic.
September With a strengthened squad, Keane achieved his first win as a manager over Derby County on 9 September, when
Chris Brown and debutant Ross Wallace scored. Sunderland continued their successful start under the new manager with a 3–0 win over
Leeds United on 13 September. The goals came from new recruits Graham Kavanagh and Liam Miller while Stephen Elliott grabbed the other goal. Their next opponents were
Leicester City on 16 September. This game was Keane's first at home, and Tobias Hysén scored a goal to make sure they remained unbeaten under him. Sunderland experienced their first defeat under the new manager against
Ipswich Town on 23 September. They originally took the lead through a
Jason de Vos own goal, but were eventually beaten 3–1. They returned to winning ways the next match on 30 September, as a
Grant Leadbitter strike lead them to a 1–0 win against
Sheffield Wednesday.
October During the break for international games, Sunderland allowed
Rory Delap and
Jonathan Stead to join
Stoke City and Derby County respectively on loan deals. They played their next match against
Preston North End on 14 October, where they were beaten 4–1;
Stanislav Varga scored the only Sunderland goal. They then met Stoke City on 17 October where they were beaten 2–1 despite having taken the lead through a
Dwight Yorke goal. Delap, who was making his debut after recently joining Stoke on loan from Sunderland, suffered a broken leg after a tackle from
Robbie Elliott. Sunderland themselves dipped into the loan market, signing left back
Lewin Nyatanga from Derby County until January. They played
Barnsley on 21 October, and goals from
Dean Whitehead and
Chris Brown earned them a 2–0 win. Sunderland achieved back-to-back wins when they beat
Hull City 1–0 on 28 October.
Ross Wallace scored a last minute goal but was sent off after removing his shirt in celebration. Sunderland played
Cardiff City next on 31 October, and were beaten 2–1. Manager Keane said "We were very, very poor. We lost it everywhere – the goal we gave away, our passing, our tackling, our movement; everything really was poor." ==Match results==